KINGSTON, Ont. - After two straight games where the Western Mustangs scored a combined 116 points, the matchup with the Queen’s Gaels was advertised as a much tighter contest and it certainly did not disappoint. In a hard-fought defensive battle between the fifth and sixth ranked teams in the nation, the sixth-ranked Gaels came away with an 18-11 victory. 

“[Queen’s] is a good football team. We did some good things defensively, but at times we were softer on the run than you have to be to win a championship,” said Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall.

The Mustangs defence held a Gaels offence that scored more than 40 points in both of their first two games to only two touchdowns and a field goal. The defence also put points on the board themselves as linebacker Pawel Kruba picked off a pass from QB Billy McPhee and returned it 30-yards for a touchdown.

Along with Kruba a number of Mustang defenders had strong performances including Aaron Handsor who led the team with eight tackles, and Marcus Babic, who recorded six tackles and two sacks.

On the other side of the ball the ground game generated the majority of the Mustangs offence, with Garret Sanvido recording his third consecutive 100-plus yard game, running the ball 26 times for 137 yards. Quarterback Donnie Marshall also had a big impact on the running game, rushing eight times for 77 yards.

The Mustangs opened the scoring on Saturday on their second drive of the game, picking up three points on a 36-yard field goal from Lirim Hajrullahu. The Gaels fired back when they regained possession as Billy McPhee connected with Giovanni Aprile on a 30-yard touchdown pass to give Queen’s a four point lead halfway through the first quarter.

Following the quick exchange of points the defences from both teams then took over for the remainder of the half, preventing either side from scoring a point in the second quarter. 

Just over two minutes into the third quarter Kruba picked off a pass from McPhee and took it back 30 yards for a touchdown. Hajrullahu added the convert, then sent the ensuing kickoff out of the Queen’s endzone for the single, making it 11-7 for the Mustangs. 

Once again Queen’s answered back quickly, driving 55 yards on 11 plays before London native and back-to-back OUA Special Teams Player of the Week Dillon Wamsley hit a 27-yard field goal to pull the Gaels within one with just over nine minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The teams would continue to trade possession for the remainder of the quarter and into the fourth before Queen’s running back Ryan Granberg scored on a 19-yard run, to put the Gaels ahead 18-11 following a two-point conversion. 

The Mustangs nearly evened the score late in the game as quarterback Donnie Marshall led a 63-yard drive, including a perfect 39-yard pass to his brother Brian, deep into Queen’s territory, however the Gaels were able to stop the Mustangs attack, and finished with an 18-11 victory.

“It’s important for our team to learn from this. We think Queen’s is one of the best teams in the country, we can compete then them, we just have to play better than we did today, said coach Marshall. “We have to sustain some drives and put points on the board when we have the chance.”

Next up for Western is a game against Windsor Lancers, who they last faced in last season’s OUA semi-final which the Mustangs won 33-27. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. at TD Waterhouse Stadium.